Michael Hayden joins Washington Times

4/23/14 12:44 PM EDT

Former CIA and NSA director Gen. Michael Hayden will write a bimonthly column called "Inside Intelligence" for the Washington Times, the paper announced on Wednesday.

“Gen. Hayden is known as a broad-minded and independent thinker on military and intelligence matters. His columns will be must-reads inside and outside the Beltway,” Washington Times Editor John Solomon said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to have him as part of our growing team of columnists. His topics go to the heart of our mission as a newspaper.”

The Times has been building up a stable of conservative columnists in recent months, including Christine O'Donnell, Tom DeLay, Steve Deace, Tammy Bruce, Thom Loverro and Ben Carson, all of whom have signed on with the conservative newspaper in the past year or so. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) also joined the paper last year but was suspended in November after instances of plagiarism.

Hayden said he was "excited to come aboard at the Times and share insights with readers who care deeply about national security issues.”